Diplomats called back to work

The U.S. State Department is calling back its furloughed diplomats next week after finding enough money to meet payroll to cover two weeks, but the 8,000 returning employees will still have to wait to get their retroactive pay, officials said Thursday.

Officials said a review of the State Department’s payroll accounts came up with enough money to meet one 15-day pay period. Beyond that, officials cautioned they will have to see if they can identify funds from other accounts that can be tapped should the shutdown extend beyond that. That would require the consent of Congress, however.

Though the number of furloughed State Department employees has shifted from week to week, currently 40 percent of the 14,500 working in the United States are furloughed, as are 23 percent of 9,500 working overseas. Furloughs were particularly steep at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID), hitting more than half of its 3,300 employees.

Officials said the recall was made because a “full team” is needed to address issues around the world, and out of concern for the financial hardship and uncertainty affecting State Department employees during the longest shutdown in U.S. history.

Even with the furloughed employees recalled, the State Department still intends to resume work on a threadbare level. Employees are being asked to adhere to “strict budget constraints” on new funding for contracts, travel and other needs.

France’s ‘hard Brexit’ plan

LONDON — France’s government is kicking off a 50 million-euro (about $57 million) plan to prepare for the increasingly likely possibility that Britain will leave the European Union on March 29 without a plan.

French Prime Minister Edouard Philippe announced Thursday that the government will start hiring 600 extra government employees including customs agents to handle cross-border trade and security.

He said the plan also includes money for airports and ports, which are “most concerned” by the prospect of a so-called hard Brexit.

He said “we strongly believe” Britain will leave with no exit deal, notably after the British parliament this week overwhelmingly rejected a divorce agreement worked out with the EU.

The French parliament adopted a law Wednesday allowing emergency measures after March 30 in the event Britain leaves without a deal.

Such measures could aim to reduce problems in cross-border trade and transport, notably through the Eurotunnel beneath the English Channel, and allow British workers and retirees based in France temporary permission to stay until a longer-term deal is worked out.

Taiwan holds military drills

Taiwan’s military held large-scale drills on its west coast Thursday amid growing tensions between the self-governed island and an increasingly belligerent Beijing.

Aimed at thwarting an amphibious invasion, Taiwan’s armed forces dispatched tanks, rocket launchers and combat helicopters to beaches near Taichung for the island’s first live-fire drills of the year.

“Our military stands ready to counter any threats ... including those from Communist China,” Maj. Gen. Chen Chung-chi, a spokesman for Taiwan’s defense ministry, told CNN.

The first phase of the drills will continue until the end of the January.